Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to an image forming apparatus that executes a print job in which binding processing is set.
Description of the Related Art
Binding processing for aligning and binding a plurality of printed sheets is conventionally known as one of post-processing functions executable by an image forming apparatus.
As a method for binding sheets, conventionally, an image forming apparatus includes a binding unit that binds a bundle of a plurality of sheets by using a binding material such as a staple. There is also an image forming apparatus including a binding unit that binds sheets without using the binding material such as a staple (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2010-189101 and 2012-025499). The image forming apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open. No. 2010-189101 includes a binding unit that pinches and presses a sheet bundle between teeth forms to entangle fibers of the sheets to bind the sheet bundle without using the binding material, such as a staple, in consideration of an environment-friendliness. Further, the image forming apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-025499 includes a binding unit that forms a tongue-shaped piece and a slit hole in a sheet bundle, and inserts the tongue-shaped piece into the slit hole to bind the sheet bundle.
Furthermore, an image forming apparatus including a plurality of holding units (for example, sheet cassettes) for holding sheets and having a function of automatically selecting a holding unit to be used for printing based on a sheet size from among the plurality of holding units is conventionally known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open. No. 10-240078).
An image forming apparatus may include a plurality of binding units. For example, an image forming apparatus may include both a binding unit for binding a sheet bundle by using the binding material and a binding unit for binding a sheet bundle without using the binding material.
As compared to the binding unit for binding the sheet bundle by using the binding material, the binding unit for binding the sheet bundle without using the binding material is characteristically more susceptible to the surface properties and grammage of the sheets to bundle, and can bind only fewer sheet types.
If such an image forming apparatus including binding units for performing different types of binding processing is configured to select a holding unit using a shared method regardless of the type of the binding processing, the following issue occurs. If many types of sheets are subjected to the selection, a holding unit holding sheets of a type which cannot be bound through stapleless binding processing may be selected although the stapleless binding processing is specified. In such a case, even if the user expects a properly-bound print product, sheets of the type which cannot be bound can be fed and thus output without undergoing the binding processing.
The foregoing issue does not occur if the types of sheets to be selected are limited to those which can be bound through the stapleless binding processing. This, however, may cause an issue that selectable holding units decrease in a case where a sheet bundle is output without binding or where a sheet bundle is output through the staple binding processing.